JEDDAH, 27 February 2007 — Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi stated yesterday that fighting unemployment in the Kingdom was a joint responsibility. “It is wrong to assume that it’s the sole responsibility of the Labor Ministry. The whole society with all its institutions must come together to tackle this national issue,” he said.
The minister expressed hope that the next national dialogue forum, which is going to address unemployment and labor market issues, would be able to find a radical solution to the complex problem. The official unemployment rate among Saudi men is put at nine percent and among women at 22 percent.
“I would like to thank Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for approving a proposal made by the ministry to make labor and employment the topic of the next national dialogue,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted Gosaibi as saying.
“Unemployment is a complex issue that has no easy solution,” Gosaibi said. “We have to find out the reasons and solve them in a scientific manner. Previous solutions were individual views that lacked scientific and methodical thinking,” he added.
The minister said insufficient training was a key factor in unemployment in the Kingdom, as well as the tendency of some companies to skirt their Saudi quotas.
The King Abdul Aziz National Dialogue Center announced last week that the next dialogue would focus on the theme of “Job Opportunities and Employment: A Dialogue Between the Community and Labor Institutions.” The topic was chosen considering its importance as unemployment is a major issue now in Saudi Arabia, said Faisal ibn Muammar, secretary-general of the center. He said officials from both public and private sectors would take part in the dialogue.
The labor minister said the subject must be tackled, considering all aspects including Saudi education standard, needs of the job market, negligence of some businessmen toward Saudization, lack of training, dearth of job discipline and ethics and the big gap between benefits provided by the private and public sectors.
The Kingdom in recent years asked companies to reserve a percentage of jobs for Saudi citizens in certain categories.
King Abdullah set up the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue in August 2003, when he was crown prince, as part of political and social reforms that he spearheaded. The center aims at promoting a culture of dialogue among Saudi intellectuals and youth.
The center has so far conducted six forums focusing on different topics. The last forum, which was held in the northern city of Sakaka in November 2006, addressed educational reforms.
